Other

Information

Silver Spot Price & Charts

Silver Prices

Below are live silver spot prices per troy ounce, gram, and kilogram. You can also see 24-hour trends for each weight. Please scroll down for a full, interactive silver price chart, and view our popular silver bullion products.

On our silver pricing page, you'll see both historical and live silver prices and an interactive chart which lets you plug in a custom date range. (This way you can look at silver pricing movements in any date range you'd like.) If you look above, you'll also see price charts for the past month, the past 3 months, the past 6 months, the past year and all the way back to our start in 1973!

Spot Silver

Updated: 03/21/19 04:34:02

Price per ounce: $15.45

Price per Kilo: $496.72

Price per Gram: $0.50

Change:
-0.06

Silver's Spot Price -- What Is It, and Why Does It Matter?

Silver price is calculated using a unit known as the troy ounce. It's been the standard unit for weighing precious metals since at least the 1800s in the United States; the troy ounce has been used much longer elsewhere in the world.

The spot price is the result of many different factors affecting supply and demand for silver: the economy, recent events in the world, the supply and demand for paper currencies, plus many other different factors. Silver dealers use this spot price as a reference when calculating what to charge for physical silver metal, such as bars, rounds, and bullion coins.

All the product pricing on our website is based on a certain premium to the spot price. That's why you'll see pricing update every few seconds when the market is open. This way, our customers make their investments in market conditions which are as up-to-date as possible.

Using Silver for Investment

Many investors have started paying attention to silver because of the way silver prices have gone up over the last decade. To some people, silver is a way of protecting themselves against devaluation in the dollar, and stock market ups and downs. To other investors, silver is a valuable medium of exchange to use for trade and barter during an economic collapse.

You can purchase silver for investment purposes in a number of different forms, including silver bullion and paper silver. The most common forms of physical silver bullion are coins, rounds, and bars -- there are a number of size options for each form. Some investors prefer government minted coins, as they are easier to sell, while others prefer the lower premiums they pay on bullion bars or rounds. No matter which you choose, you have a huge array of options available for this investment vehicle.

"Paper silver" is another way of investing in the metal; it takes the form of certificates and ETFs. These options differ from physical metal because the owner never has a chance to hold the silver itself. A certificate or ETF is simply a piece of paper which says that a financial institution or bank is holding a given amount of silver on your behalf -- you never see the silver.

Frequently Asked Questions About Silver Pricing

How frequently does the silver price change?

Silver spot prices update every few seconds while the market is open. Since this applies to both foreign and domestic exchanges, the spot price of silver updates Sunday to Friday, 6pm EST until 5:15pm EST every day. The spot price stays static during the 45 minute "quiet period" from 5:15 until 6pm EST on weekdays and from 5:15pm EST Friday until 6PM EST Sunday.

What determines the price of silver?

There are dozens of different economic factors which affect the price of silver... everything from interest rates, market indexes like the DJIA, macro-economic trends, foreign relations, fiscal and monetary policy, and much more. To get the most up to date news on the silver market, look at our regular market updates.

What are Bid and Ask prices, and what's the difference?

The "Bid" price is simply the highest offer currently available for a given commodity right now. The "Ask" price is the lowest asking price currently available for that same commodity.

To simplify, if you want to buy silver, you'll pay the "Ask" price. If you're looking to sell, you'll get the "Bid" price.

The gap between the Bid and the Ask prices is known as the "spread," and it can be a reliable indicator of the market's liquidity. The smaller the "spread" between the Bid and the Ask, the more liquid that commodity is and the less you will pay to get into and out of a silver position.

What is a silver futures contract?

A silver futures contract is simply an agreement between a buyer and a seller, in which the buyer agrees to purchase a certain quantity of silver from that seller, at a certain price, on a certain date in the future.

For example a buyer might agree to buy 5000 troy oz of silver, at a price of $20 per troy ounce, on a date two months from now.

If the price of silver goes down $2 per troy ounce in those two months, the seller profits $10,000 -- they will be able to purchase $90,000 worth of silver on the open market, and then sell it (as agreed in the futures contract) for $100,000.

However if the price of silver goes up by $2, then the buyer makes $10,000 profit, because he or she was now able to buy $110,000 in silver for just $100,000.

A futures contract also allows a bullion dealer to "hedge" their operation against fluctuations in the price. They can electronically buy or sell metal in the future and thereby offset their own physical silver inventory positions. As the spot price goes up and down, the gains and losses in physical versus futures positions offset each other and ensure that the spot price's movements don't affect the dealer's company.

Buying and selling of futures contracts happens on many different exchanges around the world, of which the best known are the COMEX and the NYMEX.

What's COMEX?

COMEX is the main exchange for trading silver and gold futures contracts. A standard gold contract is for 100 troy oz worth of gold, while a standard silver contract is for 5000 troy oz of silver.

What's NYMEX?

NYMEX is the main exchange for trading palladium and platinum futures contracts. A standard palladium contract is for 100 troy oz worth of palladium, whereas a standard platinum contract is for 50 troy oz worth of platinum.

What's the silver London Fix?

The silver London Fix is a price which is set once each weekday, at 12:00 GMT, by the London Silver Fixing Company. The London Fix is determined by certain specific LBMA market makers, which include representatives from major banks like HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Scotiabank.

Is there a tax on physical silver?

Certain states in the US have a sales tax on silver coins and bullion, yes. Depending on where you're located, and where you buy your silver, you may need to pay use or sales tax on the metals. For information on particular states, see our local buying guide.

How many grams are there in a troy ounce?

As mentioned earlier, silver is weighed in troy ounces. One troy ounce is equivalent to approximately 31.1034768 grams, which in turn is somewhat more than the 28 grams per standard ounce.

How many troy ounces in a kilogram?

A kilogram of silver contains about 32.151 troy oz.

What's the "gold-silver ratio"?

When people talk about the gold-silver ratio, they mean the relationship between the spot price of silver and the spot price of gold. To determine this ratio, take gold as the fixed variable and determine the relative value of silver to gold.

Many investors watch the cycles and movements in the gold-silver ratio to see if gold or silver have become undervalued relative to each other.

Should I buy physical silver, or silver mining stocks?

This depends on your personal investing preferences. Some investors prefer having physical ownership of silver, while others prefer owning silver mining stocks or "paper" silver. There are pros and cons to both options -- you can find more information here.

Where do I buy physical silver?

Here, of course. We have a very wide array of high quality physical silver products, at some of the industry's lowest prices.

How much money must I have in order to buy silver?

You can get started buying silver with just $100, which is our minimum purchase. We have many 1oz and fractional ounce silver products with prices starting as low as $3 each. This is one reason many investors prefer holding silver over gold -- you can start investing without a huge amount of money.

Can I hold silver as part of my IRA?

Sure. We have relationships with many IRA custodians that provide physical metal-friendly self-directed IRAs. This way you can buy physical silver bullion and receive the tax benefits of an IRA on your investment. See our page on bullion IRA investing for more.